With the outbreak of World War I, a large number of aid societies arose in the United States and Switzerland to provide relief for the
Serbian, Belgian, and Polish people. Patrons established the Serbian Aid Society in Berne, Switzerland on 19 May 1916, to extend aid
to Serbs across Europe, under the honorary presidency of Madame Slavko Grouitch, the wife of the Serbian Minister to the United States.
The American branch of the organization was the Serbian Aid Fund, organized in New York City. The Serbian military collapse in 1915
resulted in the internment of large numbers of Serbian soldiers in German, Austrian, and Hungarian prison camps and the creation of a
desperate refugee community in Switzerland. Madame Grouitch worked to collect donations for Serbian POW's (particularly for boy prisoners),
students in Switzerland, and exiled officers' and functionaries' families. Ernest Sautter, a prominent member of the World's Alliance of
YMCA's served on the organization's board of directors. The YMCA worked closely with the Serbian Aid Fund in other areas as well. Relief
shipments bound for Serbian POW's passed through the Association's warehouse in Copenhagen and YMCA secretaries distributed the aid directly
to the Serbian prisoners.1

The wide range of relief activities are outlined in this twenty-four-page pamphlet. Starting with a list of the prison camps in
Germany, Austria, and Hungary that held Serbian prisoners, the publication provides a general report on relief activities and financial
summaries. The section on the Serbian Hospital Fund provides an in-depth overview of the aid dispensed to Serbian POW's such as bedding
and hospital garments, comfort kits for convalescent soldiers, sanitary and medical outfits, operating room equipment, sterilizers, tents
and rubber blankets, motor trucks and ambulances, and a civilian refugee hospital. Another section addresses the efforts of the Fund for
Serbian Officers and Functionaries' Families, which included relief work for Serbian students stranded in Switzerland and Serbian boy
prisoners of war. The report then details a variety of fund-raising activities for the Serbian Section, including a Serbian booth at the
Russian bazaar, charity work by auxiliary organizations, charity concerts, and the donation of office space. The pamphlet provides a
series of lists, such as a summary of aid shipments to Europe by date and by ship; donated supplies; dispersements; a treasurer's report;
and contributions by name or organization, which totaled $90,126.04 (contributions ranged from $1 to $10,290, which reflected the reliance
relief organizations had on wealthy patrons while foreshadowing the need for popular-based fund raising campaigns). The report concludes
with a sample of letters of thanks and appreciations written by the relief recipients.2

The second document was part of the Annual Report of the Serbian Aid Fund, 1 May 1917 to 30 April 1918 and describes how the YMCA worked
with the Serbian Aid Fund to provide relief to Serbians. The report details Association assistance to Serbian students stranded in
Switzerland. The second section focuses on the relief effort for Serbian boy prisoners of war incarcerated in Braunau in Austria and
Neszider in Hungary. The Serbian Aid Fund worked through the YMCA War Prisoners' Aid office in Copenhagen and the Serbian Red Cross.

Notes:

Note 1:
Serbian Section of the Bureau of Relief for Prisoners of War, The Other Side of the Trenches, New York, NY: Serbian Aid Fund, ca. 1917.
Armed Services Records Box 55, Folder: "Prisoners of War-Pamphlets in Various Languages-ca. 1914-1918," Kautz Family YMCA Archives,
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.